Emmanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) is content to continue working from home after the cycling season resumes in August; the five-day Criterium du Dauphiné will be his only event before the Tour de France, and he will be in Nice on August 29 to He is not worried about his lack of race fitness when he competes in the Grand Depart in Nice on August 29.

"I don't think it's a big problem," he said. I was already at a very good level when I finished the first part of the season at the UAE Tour in February. I'm not worried about that, because you can always improve with training. You don't need a race to get really good."

Buchmann, fourth overall in the 2019 Tour, started the year with a win at the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana in January but was forced to abandon the UAE Tour the following month after a crash. Assuming he completes the Dauphiné, he will have only 11 days of racing to digest before the Tour begins, but he has no qualms about making up for less competition.

The German believes that he is as well prepared in training as he is in racing. He is currently training with his Bora-Hansgrohe team in Austria's Ötztal Alps and will have another high-altitude camp immediately after the Dauphiné on April 16. He admitted that the slight amount of racing throughout the peloton before the Tour may even work in his favor.

"I don't think it's a bad thing for me that I have to do everything in training, because I think I can reach a really good level just by training, even without racing. 'Usually I'm at my highest level when I come back from a long training period. Last year I went four, five, six weeks without racing and I was at my best for the races.

Twelve months ago, Buchmann finished third overall in the Dauphiné and touted his Tour form: "I would be really happy to do well there, but it's more important to make sure I have a good feeling and am ready."

Buchmann, a native of Ravensburg, is currently based on the opposite shore of Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria. His training included "climbing Everest" on the slopes of the Heimelaberg to raise money for a German children's charity.

"I didn't intend for it to be an official record. I wanted to do something different in training," Buchmann said, quietly adding that he had no intention of chasing a record now that the real preparations for the Tour had begun. Now is not the time."

Bora-Hansgrohe will announce its Tour selection on Tuesday, and while Peter Sagan will be aiming for his eighth green jersey, the team is built around Buchmann's overall class ambitions. Max Schachmann, Felix Großschartner, Gregor Mühlberger, and Leonard Kemna will flank Buchmann in the mountains, while Daniel Oss and Lucas Pestlberger will support the others.

"I think Ineos and Jumbo are the strongest team. Buchmann added: "I think Ineos and Jumbo are the strongest team and I expect them to race. "

In the closing stages of the 2019 Tour, Buchmann was 25 seconds away from the podium and less than two minutes away from the maillot jaune, a modest but steady presence at the front of the race on every uphill climb.The road to the podium will be more complicated in the 2020 Tour because the field of candidates is thicker. In September, he softly dismissed the notion that the road to the podium would be more complicated with a larger field of contenders for the 2020 Tour.

"I think there were a lot of competitors last year," he said. Everyone has to start the Tour in good condition and finish without crashing or getting sick. Not everyone can finish the Tour as expected."

Indeed, Buchmann is reluctant to think beyond the Champs Elysées on September 20. The World Championships (assuming they are held in Martigny as planned) and the Vuelta a España are also on Buchman's program, but at the moment the Tour is the event that is etched in Buchman's mind.

"I'm not a born captain and I'm not a great public speaker," Buchman confessed on the eve of last year's Tour, and he has remained soft-spoken and almost shy since his breakthrough last July. But such self-control should not be mistaken for a lack of confidence. On Tuesday, he was asked if he has a chance of winning the 2020 Tour. His answer was short but suggestive.

"It's not impossible," Buchman said. 'It's not impossible.'